Malinga and Nitish fashion Sunrisers’ thrilling 10-run victory over Chennai Super Kings

Eshan Malinga and Nitish Kumar Reddy fashioned Sunrisers Hyderabad’s 10-run win over Chennai Super Kings at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad on Saturday night.

For the second consecutive match in IPL 2026, the Sunrisers bowlers have come to the party. They held their nerves and did not let the pressure get the better of them in what turned out to be a thrilling encounter between the sides.

“Everyone did a good job. It’s a team effort. I was thinking of bowling according to the situation and to use the field. The pitch was good, fast bowlers did well. Good to bat on, we executed well. We got message from outside to bowl on top of off, not try too much. Shivang has been bowling really well, hope he continues,” said Nitish Kumar Reddy.

Nitish Kumar Reddy took two for 31 to put Sunrisers Hyderabad in the driver’s seat

Chasing 195 for victory, Chennai Super Kings, though they lost Sanju Samson quite early, made a galloping start with Ayush Mhatre and skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad taking on the hosts’ bowlers. They raced away to 66 in the fifth over before both of them perished within the space of three balls.

Ayush, who had pulled his hamstring, decided to bat on but it proved to be the undoing for his side. Once, he became Nitish Reddy’s second scalp, Chennai came under immense pressure.

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The visitors had made good use of the powerplay as they reached 76 for three, one better than Sunrisers. But the middle overs were where Super Kings lost the plot. They did not have someone like Heinrich Klaasen to hold the ground together.

Matthew Short (34), Sarfaraz Khan (25) and Shivam Dube (21) got off to starts but failed to take down the Sunrisers’ total as Malinga wrecked the middle-order.  The Sri Lankan pacer finished with figures of three for 29 and Nitish took two for 31 as Super Kings were restricted to 184 for eight. Malinga was named Player of the Match.

Super Kings needed 15 off the last over but they did not have anyone like David Miller, who did the trick for Delhi Capitals in the earlier game of the day against Royal Challengers Bengaluru.

Miller redeems himself as he and Stubbs steer Capitals to six-wicket win over Bengaluru

Last match heroes Praful Hinge (1/60) and Sakib Hussain (1/32) were brought back to the earth as they had a taste of the vagaries of the game.

Abhishek Sharma was in blistering form as he struck six fours and four sixes in his 22-ball 59

By virtue of the win, Sunrisers have jumped to the No.4 spot in the IPL table.

Earlier, Sunrisers Hyderabad were again off to a blazing start as openers Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head plundering 75 off 35 balls before Head fell for 23. Abhishek was in blistering form as he struck six fours and four sixes in his 22-ball 59.

Skipper Ishan Kishan fell for a one-ball duck and with Abhishek falling soon after, the hosts were in familiar territory of uncertainty. The scoring came down rapidly as the middle order struggled to get the runs at the pace with which the openers had got.

There were small partnerships but nothing much substantial. The next best after the opening stand was the 35 off 22 balls by Heinrich Klaasen and K Nitish Kumar for the fifth wicket.

Heinrich Klaasen held the middle from falling apart with a 39-ball 59 with six fours and two sixes. Pics: BCCI

Klaasen held the middle from falling apart with a 39-ball 59 with six fours and two sixes.  Sunrisers could get 88 in the middle 10 overs and only 31 in the last four overs. This has been more or less the trend in the last few games with Sunrisers failing to capitalize on the brilliant starts that they are getting from their openers.

At one stage, Sunrisers looked good to get 220 but Jamie Overton single-handedly put the brakes on the innings. He finished with figures of three for 37 and Anshul Kamboj, who went for 14 in his first over, made a strong comeback at the death. He finished three for 22 in three overs as Sunrisers struggled to get going in the last three overs of their innings.

Brief scores: Sunrisers Hyderabad 194 for nine in 20 overs (Abhishek Sharma 59, Travis Head 23, Heinrich Klaasen 59; Mukesh Choudhary 2/21, Anshul Kamboj 3/22, Jamie Overton 3/37) beat Chennai Super Kings 184 for eight in 20 overs (Ayush Mhatre 30, Matthew Short 34, Sarfaraz Khan 25, Shivam Dube 21; Eshan Malinga 3/29, Nitish Kumar Reddy 2/31).